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Relationships between parents and their offspring

What do you think of the idea that it's unnecessary to maintain a strong relationship with your offspring once the child becomes an adult? I had a friend express this opinion last night and it got me thinking. It seems to impose many unnatural burdens upon people who feel differently about the parent/offspring relationship. I'm kind of curious to see if any authors have written more extensively on the subject.

I personally believe your relationship with your parents can flourish and become most rewarding once you are both adults and can relate to each other on almost equal footing.

Is it necessary? Well, I suppose not. But enjoyable and fulfilling? Certainly.

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.” – Bill Hicks

I believe that gronw-up children turn to a closer approach to their parents when they become parents themselves.

My parents give me loads of advice on raising my son. Also, they help me conserve patience and treat my child with care and safety. They approve of my fathering and say that my son will be very proud of me some day (as much as I am proud of them).

I believe it's unnecessary depending on the people involved and the particular relationship. But I'm also biased, so there's that. I definitely think, though, that the rather common "absolute" here is BS - that it's flat-out wrong to not be close with your parents when you're an adult, because they "raised" you (whatever that may mean).

Precisely. While growing up, all we think about is getting rid of parental control, which we deem "exxagerated" and "unnecessary", to a certain point. Then we find ourselves alone in the world, with new challenges to face and (hopefully) a job of our own to pay the bills and taxes. Some taxes we never heard about before.

I think that's the turning point, when a parent knows their job was done well - when the offspring comes of age and stands on its own against the world with full sense of duty and responsibility without financial help, which doesn't necessarily mean to live worlds apart. We all need emotional help sometimes, as we are only humans and need to be loved, just like everybody else does.

Then again, when adults become parents themselves, the parents and now-grandparents are the ones to turn to for advice and assistance.